Feb. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc.,
the world’s largest fertilizer producer, said a proposed bid for
Israel Chemicals Ltd. isn’t suspended and it’s still trying to
make the deal work.

“The process there is not on hold, it’s not frozen, it’s
not suspended,” Potash Corp. Chief Financial Officer Wayne
Brownlee said yesterday at an investor conference organized by
Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Brownlee said he wanted to clarify some “loose words” in
a presentation he made the day before when he said “political
events” had put the deal “on hold.” He said Feb. 26 that
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan-based Potash Corp. was waiting for the
outcome of Israeli talks to form a coalition government after
elections last month. The state holds a so-called golden share
in Israel Chemicals, allowing it to block a takeover.

Israel Chemicals is the second-largest company by market
value on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange’s benchmark TA-25 Index. It
had a market capitalization of 61.1 billion shekels ($16.4
billion) at today’s close.

The chairman of the company’s workers committee said Feb.
21 that employees would shut down all plans if the deal goes
ahead. The workers are concerned that a transaction would lead
to jobs being transferred to neighboring Jordan. The deal was
also opposed by a group of lawmakers at a Feb. 27 meeting.

Brownlee said yesterday he expects the government will have
concerns about issues such as jobs and production levels.

Ofer Family

“We need to make sure that we have a good package that
addresses that on a sustained basis, without hurting our
shareholder return,” he said.

Israel Chemicals, based in Tel Aviv, extracts potash from
the Dead Sea and is controlled by the Ofer family’s Israel
Corp., which owns 52 percent. A takeover would lift Potash
Corp.’s share of forecast global potash production capacity in
2013 to 27 percent, according to data compiled by Green Markets,
a fertilizer-industry information service.

Potash is a form of potassium that helps crops withstand
drought and strengthens plant root systems. Potash Corp.’s
largest potash mines are in Saskatchewan.

Brownlee said Feb. 26 that his company is seeking 51
percent to 100 percent of Israel Chemicals and won’t go hostile.
Potash Corp. currently has a 14 percent stake, according to data
compiled by Bloomberg.

“We are continuing to try to move down this path in a way
that we think we’ll generate the best possible outcome and in a
way that will allow us to anticipate the requirements of the
government of Israel, the employees, the communities that would
be affected in a way that would generate a win-win situation for
everybody,” he said yesterday.